A print-head assembly in a printing apparatus typically includes a carriage which is supported for movement over a printing surface. The carriage incorporates or supports a print-head unit having one or more print heads which travel over the printing surface with the carriage in a travel direction. In addition to the print-head unit, the carriage may optionally support one or more curing units for curing the ink deposited by the print heads.
To protect the print-head assembly from inadvertent contact by an operator or a foreign object on the printing surface which may block movement of the carriage, the conventional print-head assembly includes a safety fence or barrier. If or when an operator or a foreign object contacts the safety fence or barrier, thereby impeding or blocking movement of the carriage, the safety fence may trigger the carriage to stop moving (e.g. via sensors and control circuitry) to prevent any personal injury or damage to the printing apparatus. The conventional safety fence design, however, consumes space to provide for a travel length for the carriage to stop, which length is inevitably required in view of inertia of the carriage, for example. This design results in a considerable carriage length, which requires or demands for additional overrun space on opposite sides of the printing surface.